The following discussion is provided solely to assist the understanding of the reader, and does not constitute an admission that any of the information discussed or references cited constitute prior art to the present invention.
There has been tremendous interest generated in the production of bio-fuels created from the growing of fast replicating high lipid content prokaryotes and eukaryotes such as diatoms, unicellular organisms and micro-algae for the harvesting of their lipid content. The creation of micro-algae colonies and extraction of triglycerides (TAG) contained therein is of primary interest in the creation of oil and bio-fuels.
All eukaryotes have a plasma membrane, which is the boundary between the cell and the environment; it is selectively or partially permeable that is: it can accept or reject substances necessary or detrimental to its growth. This membrane is made up of a double sheet of phospholipid molecular material that has the unusual property of being at one end, the head, hydrophilic and the other end, the tail of its beaded shape, hydrophobic. This phospholipid material is of particular interest to the growing and harvesting of TAG's as a substitute for petroleum, as it is both the hydrophilic and hydrophobic qualities of this material that the present invention seeks to exploit.
“In turbulence, phospholipids form two kinds of bubbles: a monolayer that can only capture a drop of oil and a bilayer that can capture a drop of water. The bilayer allows the hydrophobic tails to associate with themselves, while the heads associate with water on both the inside and the outside surfaces of the bubble.” It is thought that phospholipids were originally grouped together in eddies and calmer waters of the primordial oceans through the action of micron-bubbles, that is a foam that was made up of millions of bubbles created by the breaking of waves. Around these bubbles, these exotic molecules grouped and, throughout the millennia, grew into structures that give us the basic design of the Eukaryote.
Some small eukaryotic organisms, e.g., unicellular micro-algae and diatom colonies, grow naturally very fast provided optimum conditions are present to promote their propagation, a fact witnessed by pool and aquarium owners. The challenge associated with specialized, controlled eukaryote growth of eukaryotic microorganisms such as diatoms and micro-algae for harvesting purposes has been duplication of the natural growth promoting environment, to with: Thorough exposure to CO2 , growth promoting admixtures, exposure to light and in the final stage, extraction, which is a term describing the breakdown of the plasma membrane to extract the encysted fatty acid material known as triglycerides or TAGs.